The position located in the Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, Richmond, Virginia and is organizationally aligned within the mental health service line working with veterans who have experienced spinal cord injury. The primary purpose of the position is attaining and maintaining competitive employment for Veterans who are unemployed or needing assistance in identifying accommodations to maintain employment.

Duties

Duties include, but may not be limited to the following: Collects and organizes data on Veterans served as required by the NEPEC, and the Mental and Behavioral Health Services service line. Conducts interviews to determine the nature and level of intervention that may be required to assist the Veteran in obtaining employment. Provides the Veteran with a range of service options that will meet immediate and long-term employment needs. Coordinates with various resources to find, evaluate, and select an appropriate employment setting and sets up or negotiates a placement that satisfies the Veteran's specified goals. Finds suitable employment opportunities, monitors placements, and promotes successful adjustment. Pursues and maintains employer contacts based on the individual client's interest Assists clients to expedite making contact with employers/jobs. Develops strategies to engage clients who may be reluctant to actively pursue employment or risk a reduction of benefits. Supports clients in all work related tasks, including but not limited to, transportation, on the job training, dealing with co-workers and supervisors, ongoing and follow along supports, and compliance with specification of appropriate clinical support(s). Networks in the local community with businesses and employers that have job leads which are directly related to the interests and desires of the Veteran. Keeps the supervisor informed of problems that arise through regular progress reports. Participates in team treatment and administrative meetings to be aware of any clinical concerns and shares strategies, progress, and needed support with other members of the treatment team. Contributes actively to the vocational rehabilitation strategies and supports the plans for all rehab clients served by the team. Participates in employment-related training opportunities as offered and recommended by the supervisor. Provides both direct and indirect services including but not limited to: access to job listings, resume preparation, vocational counseling, negotiations with employers for reasonable accommodations, assistance with completion and submission of job applications, coordination of and transportation to job interviews, interview skills training, job development, and job placement. Works closely with Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) to assist with the completion of documentation to determine the Veterans' eligibility for Vocational Rehab & Employment (VR&E) services. Documents all vocational interventions, goals, objectives and outcomes through the writing of an individualized employment plan and actively participates in the implementation of this employment plan. Attends and participates in treatment team meetings, contributes actively to the strategies and supports plans for all Veterans served by the team, and communicates strategies developed for job acquisition and retention to the treatment team. Collaborates with existing community partners and employers to demonstrate unique expertise in the ability to forge new relationships with such entities. Receives and records information from employers regarding employment opportunities, participates in job fairs, and may take a leadership role in coordination of employment fairs and similar events for homeless Veterans. Performs other directly related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Telework: Ad-Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Vocational Rehab Specialist/PD2875 Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/09/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: knowledge of the principles, theoretical concepts, and practice of vocational rehabilitation as well as the administrative mechanisms appropriate to the assignment; general knowledge and skill in job development, marketing and securing jobs, and ability to contact and work creatively with community employers; and ability to identify client strengths, interests, skills, and needs, match clients to jobs, and identify and arrange long-term supports to help clients keep jobs. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Interpersonal EffectivenessSelf-ManagementTeamworkVeteran and Customer Focus Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The typical work of a vocational rehabilitation specialist is primarily sedentary, but does require intermittent driving, standing, and walking. A valid driver's license is required. The work requires that the incumbent drive on a regular basis as a significant amount of the time may be spent in the community meeting with Veterans, employers, and other community agency representatives. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.


Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Central Virginia VA Health Care System 1201 Broad Rock Boulevard Richmond, VA 23249 US
• Name: Ryan Leash
• Phone: 980-401-2554
• Email: [email protected]